Community slams MidCoast Council for Barrington Coast Art Trail mural on old Barrington water tank

Although art is subjective and, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the community is taking aim at council over the style and the cost of the artwork.

After council posted a video on its Facebook page on Tuesday evening (February 22) showing the artwork creator explaining the project along with footage of the works being installed, the comments exploded.

As of Thursday morning (February 24), there were more than 100 negative comments, with many expressing disappointment in the lack of community consultation in the project.

Council put a call out in July 2021 looking for expressions of interest (EOI) for artworks that could be installed at the Argyle Street, Barrington water reservoir and at two reservoirs at Tea Gardens on Viney Creek Road.

In November, council announced that Gloucester High School student Luke Grey's submission entitled undertow had been chosen. Luke entered the EOI as a graduate architect at the Newcastle-based architectural design firm, Curious Practice.

One of the project conceptualists, council's manager of growth, economic development and tourism, Deb Tuckerman highlighted the local connection and said that Luke's submission was unique.

"Where most other submissions involved painting a mural on the reservoir, Curious Practice took an approach that was quite literally outside of what we expected," Ms Tuckerman said at the time.

Luke's work consists of metal cicadas pinned around the base of the tank with metal stars studded around the top.

"We saw the tank as a marker - a marker of community, a marker of place," Luke explained in the video. "To me, this artwork represents how where you have come from is taking you to where you are going."

According to council's director infrastructure and engineering services Rob Scott, the idea of a design that added to the existing structure, capturing the natural deterioration of the tank's surface was part of the attraction to Curious Practice's proposal.

"I think there was a strong perception; when people hear about tanks and art they presume a mural or some form of painted art," Mr Scott said. "I know that is what I had first envisaged for this project."

He explained that although it wasn't wasn't what had been first envisaged, it appealed to the selection panel and it made use of the small scale of the reservoir. The selection panel for the project was made up of community representatives covering business, historical groups and creative groups with experience in public and sculptural art.

Another appealing aspect of the design is it's long lifespan and relatively low maintenance requirements,m unlike murals which tend to fade as they weather. This three dimensional installation is designed to age with the tank. The corten steel cicadas will begin to rust and turn a brilliant orange over time, while the stars are made of stainless steel and will remain bright, with the intention that they will catch glints of light.

While the art installation is complete, there are still works planned at the site.

"We will be working with the artist team to improve the landscaping of the site and place interpretive signage that captures information on the history of the water supply, the significance of water in the context of Barrington as well as helping the public to comprehend and understand the art installation," Mr Scottsaid.

Council plans for the works to be completed over the next month.

"We recognise that art can take many different forms and what appeals to some people won't appeal to others. Our public spaces don't tend to have a lot of public art and as a result I think this whole project is a learning journey not only for council but the community," Mr Scott said.

"We didn't expect everyone to love the installation as that would be unrealistic but we understand the concerns from the community."

Another concern raised on social media was the project's cost. However, the $30,000 figure being commented on isn't correct. The budget for the project was $8000 which was fully funded through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grant program.

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